Full House (2004) -- Aw, this was cute. It may not be as slick as the newer dramas, but it's still fun.
Biscuit Teacher Star Candy (2005) -- An adorable story, it loses its thread of narrative in some places, but still left me grinning like a fool at the end.
My Name is Kim Sam Soon (2005) -- A classic for a reason. Hyun Bin's breakout role!
Goong (2006) -- Mildly charming schmaltz about an ordinary girl who finds out she's betrothed to the icy crown prince. Not quite my thing, but I can see why the Cinderella story is appealing.
Soulmate (2006) -- A drama I'd class as more for the connoisseur. Has an indie vibe, a to-die-for soundtrack, and an interesting approach to the various types of love.
Flowers for My Life (2007) -- A deftly told tragicomic tale of love and death, family and friendship set in a small town funeral home. Left me smiling through my tears at the end.
Coffee Prince (2007) -- C'mon, who hasn't seen this one? If you haven't, you're missing some seriously great stuff. Never have I wanted to be a barista more (but only if Gong Yoo is my boss).
Bottom of the 9th with 2 Outs (2007) -- A solidly likeable, mature, and realistic story about two best friends who have been falling in love with each other in bits and pieces throughout their entire lives.
Iljimae (2008) -- Wildly illogical and campy, with plotholes miles wide, and yet...while the '09 reboot is without a doubt better, this one is more fun.
Boys Before Flowers (2009) -- Bad writing, inconsistent acting, and yet...this is one of the most addictive and compelling dramas out there. The ways of the drama gods are strange.
The Return of Iljimae (2009) -- A slow but satisfying sageuk fusion tale, with a (hopelessly pretty) Robin Hood hero trying to fight corruption, betrayal, and his own loneliness. What's not to like?
Story of a Man (2009) -- An undeservedly obscure revenge thriller, with one of the best kdrama villains ever, and the kind of underdog vs. evil big guy battle that keeps you hooked.
Queen Seon Duk (2009) -- Saga of an abandoned princess who rises to become the first great queen of Silla. Plenty of exciting action and intrigue do not manage to disguise the mostly bland characters or vague plot. When you care more about the villains than the heroes, you know you've got a problem!
You're Beautiful (2009) -- A cute, light rom-com, with enough heart to keep you coming back for more. The Hong sisters when they were still on their game.
The Woman Who Still Wants to Marry (2010) -- Breezy, bubbly, yet satisfyingly sophisticated, the story of three thirty-something friends juggling careers and dating as they grow older. A killer noona-romance!
Dong Yi (2010) -- In the middle of the famous Inhyeon/Hee Bin love triangle, the king discovers his true love might just be a stubborn, intelligent servant determined to right all the wrongs of the world. An oddly moving epic about losing and finding family, what it means to be great, and where we really belong.
Prosecutor Princess (2010) -- There were some good moments, but it lacked that kdrama magic for me.
Giant (2010) -- Three siblings ride out the rise and fall of late twentieth century Korean history as they seek vengeance on an unjust world for the death of their parents. The ultimate underdog success story framed within an epic narrative, but even the best written show can drag in spots over sixty episodes.
Joseon X-Files (2010) -- SUCH a classic! Surrealist in moments, with incredible depth and skillful storytelling. Utterly brilliant.
My Girlfriend is a Gumiho (2010) -- The Hong sisters at their best. An ancient gumiho, a spoiled rich kid forced to babysit her, and a desire for humanity and love. Funny, insightful, sometimes sad, almost always sweet.
Sungkyunkwan Scandal (2010) -- The delicious sageuk tale of a young woman who disguises herself as a boy and attends the prestigious Sungkyunkwan University. There, she makes friends and gets involved with the dangerous politics of the day. A lot of fun, didn't always follow through on its perfect set-ups. But what can you do?
Playful Kiss (2010) -- Personally, I really disliked this one, despite the cute 'n' fluffy sweetness that made it bearable. I never managed to like the male lead, I wanted so much more for the female lead, and the fact there was absolutely no plot made me wonder why they bothered at all sometimes.
Secret Garden (2010) -- My first kdrama and my first love. It's only in hindsight that I realize how problematic it could be, with a hero who'd have me getting a restraining order within the first week of knowing him. Worth a watch, but only if you can resist the urge to punch him.
Dream High (2011) -- A charming coming-of-age story, with an endearing cast of underdogs and a heart- warming feud (who knew those words could go together?) to serve as backbone.
White Christmas (2011) -- A serial killer traps eight teens in an abandoned school, and poses the question: Are monsters born, or are they made? A spectacular exploration of the human psyche. Deep, dark, and frightening.
49 Days (2011) -- A spirit is given 49 days to collect three tears shed out of love for her and so return to her body. But the task isn't as simple as it seems, and life and death converge as love crosses the boundaries of mortality. Bittersweet romance/comedy/melodrama. Writing is fantastic, acting is mostly meh, and the ending is...polarizing. But the Scheduler is everything.
The Best Love (2011) -- Clever, poignant rom-com that had me rolling in the aisles. It's a Hong Sisters drama, but the actors really make the meta-story about Cinderella love in showbiz work.
Lie to Me (2011) -- Learn from my mistakes. Do not watch this messy waste of excellent actors. It will only make you pine for what could have been. Admittedly has one of the hottest kisses known to dramaland.
City Hunter (2011) -- Delightfully bad-ass, with enough heroics, love, and bromance to leave you craving more. One of my all time favorites despite its flaws.
The Princess' Man (2011) -- Oh, this drama. It steals your heart, smashes it, glues it together, smashes it again, and then leaves you sleepless with worry. Can I mark this higher than five stars?
Scent of a Woman (2011) -- Slightly on the melo side, with more angst and side characters than strictly necessary, but oddly uplifting.
Vampire Prosecutor (2011) -- Oh, I liked this one. Nicely plotted crime-of-the-week series, with an overarching mystery that's just twisty enough. The dash of supernatural vamp antics just adds flavor.
Tree with Deep Roots (2011) -- Goosebump-inducingly good sageuk about the power of literacy. Full of action, philosophy, mystery, love, friendship, and heroics, this is one the of true greats. A little slow sometimes, but who cares when there's so much good between the briefly boring?
Flower Boy Ramen Shop (2011) -- A ragtag family forms around a ramen shop where they deal with love, growing up, and being yourself. It's a nicely done show, with good characters, nice use of metaphor, and an excellent sense of humor.
Special Affairs Team TEN (2011) -- The Original OCN Gritty Crime Show™. Four cops unite in a team to crack the force's toughest cases. The cases are well-written shockers, even if the format is fairly standard.
The Moon that Embraces the Sun (2012) -- An amnesiac shaman attracts the attention of two royal brothers who notice her resemblance to their long-dead first love...Pretty, but predictable, and infuriatingly low on logic a lot of the time.
Shut Up: Flower Boy Band (2012) -- Underdog rebel musicians whose only asset in life seems to be each other fight against a standard of normal they reject, and along the way discover what really matters. Hits every drama sweet spot I have, over and over.
The King 2 Hearts (2012) -- Playboy South Korean prince and tough North Korean special ops soldier...in what drama could this be a believable pairing? Only in this one. By turns dramatic, hilarious, heart-breaking and occasionally even insightful, this is one to watch (even if the villain is kind of lame).
Rooftop Prince (2012) -- Had potential, but lost its way. Can be fun, but overall...eh.
Queen In-Hyun's Man (2012) -- Possibly the most perfect time-travel romance written. A Joseon scholar knee-deep in politics that could get him killed is given a magical talisman that keeps sending him into the modern day...and the life of an up-and-coming actress all set to play the role of the queen he serves. It's well-written, thoughtful, and beautiful.
A Gentleman's Dignity (2012) -- Assy heroes, flailing heroines, and an ok plot. A breezy watch, but in my opinion: if you want a drama about accepting adulthood, watch Bottom of the 9th with 2 Outs. If you want a drama about friendship, watch Answer Me 1997. If you want a drama about a tough teacher and her students, watch Biscuit Teacher Star Candy. Trust me, those shows are everything this drama tries and fails to be.
Answer Me 1997 (2012) -- Another great one. Six people meet up for their high school reunion, and reminisce about their teens in the '90s. So, so, so good. Funny and heart-breaking and terribly honest about what being 16 is like.
Gaksital (2012) -- My feelings about this one are as complex as the main character's relationships. Heroic, dark, and moving, the plot is nonetheless somewhat repetitive. Still a must-watch, because the ending is worth everything.
Arang and the Magistrate (2012) -- An underrated gem. A disaffected young nobleman searching for his missing mother crosses paths with an amnesiac ghost hellbent (sometimes literally) on finding out who she was. What ensues is a creepy mystery fused with a touching romance and a lot of laughs.
Vampire Prosecutor 2 (2012) -- Somehow manages to be even darker than season one. But the crime-of-the-week storytelling failed it here, with such a massive and intriguing overarching plot condensed into a mere three episodes. The cliffhanger ending leaves me praying for a season 3 anyway.
Nice Guy (2012) -- Wins the award for my favorite melo. A sweet med student takes a murder charge to protect his girlfriend, but her subsequent betrayal and his years in prison turn him into a bitter vengeance-seeker. Over the top in all the best ways. Don't watch without a box of tissues handy.
School 2013 (2012) -- A pair of angst-ridden former best friends come under the care of two teachers struggling to do the best they can for their troubled students. Good (very good even), but not great.
Nine: Nine Times Time Travel (2013) -- A reporter with nothing left to lose believes the discovery of nine incense sticks that will each take him twenty years back in the past gives him a chance to undo the night that destroyed his family. But he rapidly realizes what he does in the past changes the future in unpredictable, not necessarily positive, ways. Twisty, cerebral thriller of the best class.
Gu Family Book (2013) -- Sageuk story of a boy who finds out he's half-gumiho and sets out on an epic quest to become fully human. In theory. Ends up repetitively plotted with its potential unmet as it gets sidetracked into everything but that quest. The first two episodes are amazing. The rest? Meh.
Heartless City (2013) -- It's all-out brilliant, bloody, brutal warfare between these cops and gangsters. But trying to guess where that thin gray moral line lies or where anyone stands on it will only leave you with a headache...and a heartache.
I Hear Your Voice (2013) -- A high-school mind reader crosses paths with his childhood noona--a sassy, jaded public defender--just as the murderer who defined their childhoods is released from prison. Excellent!!!
The Master's Sun (2013) -- Hong sisters sweetly comic/sometimes spooky romance about a girl haunted by her ability to see ghosts and the icy chaebol whose touch makes them dissolve. Non-epic, but occasionally delightful, and there were some nice empowering themes there. Buried beneath the needless angst.
Two Weeks (2013) -- A lowlife gangster discovers he has a dying daughter only he can save, just as he's framed for murder. What ensues is an action-packed on-the-run narrative as he struggles to clear his name and find redemption. Tense, gripping, and Lee Joong Gi is the (anti)hero we deserve.
Secret (2013) -- Vengeance, obsession, and dark passion meet when a woman takes the blame for her prosecutor fiancee's hit-and-run accident and goes to jail, only to be betrayed by him. It's a tangled, furiously addictive story of makjang madness where the key question is: can love be born out of revenge?
The Heirs (2013) -- Only saved by my beloved Choi Young Do and Cha Eun Sang. And some wonderful, but ultimately wasted, side characters. Watch it, but prepare to need serious doses of fanfic afterwards.
Empress Ki (2013) -- Intense, soapy sageuk about the rise of a Goryeo woman to Empress of Yuan. Accurate? Nah. But who needs that when you get love triangles, birth secrets, and cross-dressing instead? Very good, which it had to be to sustain its fifty-one episodes.
You from Another Star (2013) -- An extremely well-done example of the typical romantic comedy drama. A cranky alien stranded on earth and a beautiful hallyu actress have a (quite literally) star-crossed romance.
It's Okay, It's Love (2014) -- Watchable (though frequently weirdly handled) story about a handsome playboy/famous author/DJ with serious trauma who moves into the house of a prickly psychiatrist with an intimacy phobia. Yay for talking about mental health! Boo for being too all over the place!
Night Watchman's Journal (2014) -- I'm not entirely sure what I just watched, but then, I don't think the writers were sure what they were writing. The phrase 'hot mess' does come to mind however.
Bad Guys (2014) -- To solve the darkest cases, a violent cop forms a special division out of the dregs of prison society--a gangster, a hit man, and a serial killer. But there are mysteries within mysteries here, and complex themes of redemption, justice, and forgiveness hint at a greater villain behind the scenes. Stunningly melodramatic, but still intensely watchable.
The Three Musketeers (2014) -- Swords are drawn, bromances are forged, and princesses are wooed. Rollicking adventure sageuk true to the spirit of Dumas' novel, though lacking a bit in the brains department.
Misaeng (2014) -- The wrenchingly realistic, delicately nuanced tale of an underdog struggling to find his way in the corporate world. The everyman tale we deserve. Not one to miss.
Liar Game (2014) -- Intelligent (too intelligent, almost. It can be hard to follow) story of a naive young woman sucked into a vicious reality tv show headed by a madman, whose only hope is trusting in a swindler. Edge-of-the-seat intensity, unpredictable twists and turns, glorious characters. So satisfying.
Pinocchio (2014) -- Flimsy yet endearing tale about four young people struggling to become reporters, define truth, and find love. Idealistic and funny, with some good acting, but nothing extraordinary.
Healer (2014) -- Two reporters and a mysterious courier boy become entangled when they realize their pasts are tied together. A thoroughly excellent action/romance destined to be a classic.
Kill Me, Heal Me (2015) -- A delightfully weird mish-mash of things that wasn't 'good', but so good. Possibly because Ji Sung nailed his seven different characters. Unexpectedly meaningful and touching. And scary. And funny. And swoony. And just...I don't even know. Loved it, regardless.
Angry Mom (2015) -- Surprisingly noir look at high school life, from sexual harassment and bullying to murder and political corruption. Plenty satisfying, especially in regards to the high school found family that's pretty much the heart and soul.
My Beautiful Bride (2015) -- A man's fiancee disappears, starting him on a desperate quest to find her that plunges him into a dark world of gangsters, human trafficking and large scale fraud. Dark and romantic, high-action and powerful, peopled with memorable characters. Very, very good.
I Remember You (2015) -- A brilliant profiler returns to his homeland to finally solve the secret behind his shattered memories, his father's death, and his younger brother's disappearance. Convoluted yet snappy murder mystery about monsters and memory. EPIC bromance. Pretty damn good!!
Oh My Ghostess (2015) -- A painfully shy young woman strikes a possession deal with a bouncy, lusty virgin ghost to win the love of her boss, but the cute turns to confusion as feelings get involved. OK, not without charm and laughs, but the plot didn't do it for me. Great acting though!
Sassy Go Go (2015) -- A happy-go-lucky band of misfits at a high-pressure high school find unexpected friendship and romance with the school's elite students when they're forced to become cheerleaders together. Winsome and lovable.
Six Flying Dragons (2015) -- Six people are swept up in a revolution to change not only a dynasty, but a world. But change comes with a price. Will that price be our hero's life, or worse...his dreams, and the friends he's gained through them? Solid and brainy. A worthy prequel to Tree with Deep Roots.
Answer Me 1988 (2015) -- Five families live on one street in late '80s Seoul, and five childhood friends have a bond must that now bear up under until the strain of growing up, including a shatteringly bromantic love triangle. Ultimately a glorious, bittersweet ode to youth, family, and friendship.
Splish Splash Love (2015) -- Heart-stealing 2-ep drama about time-traveling, growing pains, and first loves. Funny, but also supremely clever.
Signal (2016) -- A bitter young profiler discovers a walkie-talke that connects him with a cop twenty years in the past. Together they work on cases that have gone cold in the present and discover that the past and future can change each other. The best cop drama to have ever come out of kdrama. Impossibly awesome.
Five Children (2016) -- A widower with two children and a divorcee with three fall in love and have to find a way to make their complicated lives meld. Along for the ride are in-laws, parents, siblings, co-workers, exes and friends, many of whom experience their own romances and trials. A heart-warming family narrative, though a bit bubblegum for my taste.
Descended from the Sun (2016) -- Soldiers and doctors work together in war-torn fictional country Uruk, and fall in love amidst various catastrophes. All the sparkly, fluffy fun, which is odd considering the serious backdrop. But it's not a show made to be taken seriously...it's just meant to be lightly enjoyed.
Marriage Contract (2016) -- Standard melo fare about terminal illnesses and family dramatics, but the thoughtful acting and adorable patchwork family that forms at the center manage to elevate it somewhat.
Memory (2016) -- A cutthroat lawyer contracts Alzheimer's, and must resolve the various converging issues of his life before he forgets them. Complex, adult, and very satisfying.
Page Turner (2016) -- Heartfelt coming of age short about three teenagers, two life-altering accidents, and one big dream.
Oh Hae Young Again (2016) -- How much can we change the future when we decide to start living, and not just existing? That's the question explored in this drama about two miserable people who get tangled up together in a mess of identical names, mysterious visions, ruined weddings, and unexpected loves. Sometimes emotionally ravaging, sometimes side-splittingly funny, always a fresh take on the rom-com.
Dear My Friends (2016) -- A flavorful slice-of-life tale about a group of elders (and a thirty-something writer along for the ride) who deal with the inevitable, cruel passage of time through the strength of their decades long friendship. Touching, sincere, realistic. Made me look at my parents in a whole new light.
Beautiful Mind (2016) -- When people start mysteriously dying at an eminent hospital, a brilliant doctor with anti-social disorder becomes unlikely allies with a feisty, overly-emotional cop. The question that arises, of course, is can a man who can't feel anything fall in love? Nuanced, yet flawed.
Gogh's Starry Night (2016) -- Every guy in Go Ho's office has fallen for her, including her newly-hired ex-boyfriend and her long time hot-tempered boss. She can turn her new entanglements into a series of popular articles, but how will she choose which man gets her heart in the end? It's a workplace reverse-harem with plenty of old fashioned fun and romance. And blessedly little angst.
The Good Wife (2016) -- Slick and stylish adaptation of the American courtroom drama. When Hye-kyung's hotshot prosecutor husband gets swept up in a scandal of bribery and adultery, she has to re-enter her long abandoned career as a lawyer, and in the process rediscovers her talent, independence...and an old flame.
W--Two Worlds (2016) -- The daughter of a famous cartoonist gets sucked into his best-selling comic, where the handsome, brilliant hero is becoming self-aware and starting to question the rules of his world. A stunningly beautiful meta-narrative about fiction and reality, destiny and free will that fell too in love with its own twists in the last half.
Age of Youth (2016) -- Five college girls share an apartment, and while on the surface their differences put them at odds, they come together to support each other in the face of all that being twenty can throw at them. Cracktastic slice-of-life/coming-of age.
Moonlight Drawn by Clouds (2016) -- Dreamy fairy tale sageuk wherein a girl disguised as a eunuch wins the heart of a cranky crown prince. Beautifully shot and told, but never managed to be more than fluff.
Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016) -- A modern-day girl has an accident and is transported into the body of a previous incarnation in Goryeo, as well as into the lives of a bevy of handsome princes. Two of them especially reach her, scholarly Wook and dangerous So, but as palace life deteriorates into a bloodbath, she struggles to protect everyone from history. So deeply flawed, and yet oddly intense and heart-breaking.
Shopping King Louis (2016) -- An overprotected chaebol winds up amnesiac on the streets of Seoul, his survival depending on a kind-hearted country bumpkin looking for her missing little brother. Can two such babes in the woods find a home in the big city, their families, and maybe what they never expected...each other? A warm and gentle story about the power of kindness, love, and family.
1% of Anything (2016) -- A remake of an early oughts drama that runs pretty true to form--jerky chaebol is transformed into adoring boyfriend by a spirited schoolteacher when they're forced into a contract relationship. And yet, the feel-good focus on a couple with a ton of chemistry makes it a genuine pleasure.
Romantic Doctor Teacher Kim (2016) -- A talented young surgeon gets unfairly banished to a tumbledown provincial hospital, and at first the only thing he wants is to get out. But when he discovers the head surgeon there is a vanished legend, his outlook starts to change. Intriguing tale centered around the ethical questions involved in medicine when idealistic romanticism is the driving principle.
The Sound of Your Heart (2016) -- A zany, easy to watch adaptation of the long-running webtoon that chronicles the antics of the artist's family. Slapstick and silly, it has a surprising heart once you get past all the toilet humor.
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo (2016) -- Future weightlifting champ Kim Bok Joo experiences college life, from friendships and dreams to painful first crushes that lead to the realization that maybe real love is the person who's there to wipe away her tears and make her laugh. Impossibly sunny and sweet exploration of youth, with the most endearing, smile-inducing of romances.
The Lonely Shining Goblin (2016) -- A minor deity cursed to a life of immortality wanders the earth, hoping to find the promised bride that will free him. But he never meant to fall in love with her when he finally found her...Split down the middle between rom-com and melodrama, it's a slow, bittersweet story that explores themes of reincarnation, fate and loves that can transcend both. Not as amazing as the ratings would have you think, but it has its very compelling moments.
Voice (2017) -- It's a pretty standard detective thriller, in which two cops chase the serial killer who murdered their loved ones. The first four episodes are edge-of-your-seat intense, and the main villain, who steals the spotlight half way through and keeps it, is mesmerizing. Otherwise, fairly forgettable.
Defendant (2017) -- A prosecutor wakes up one morning to find himself on death row, convicted for the murder of his wife and daughter, and with no memory of the past four months. What ensues is a harrowing race against time for truth and justice. Ji Sung surpasses himself here as the tormented prisoner. Love!
Chief Kim (2017) -- A wacky accountant with a gift for cooking the books and a knack for anarchy becomes a reluctant champion of the underdog when he gets hired at a corrupt company. Comfort food comedy, with a cast of warm characters and a take-down-the-man attitude that's good for the soul.
Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People (2017) -- The legendary Hong Gil Dong gets a refresher here as a super-strong gang leader who becomes a prophesied hero for the people against an evil king and a corrupt system. Uncomplicated but pleasing story of underdog heroics.
Father is Strange (2017) -- A sprawling clan is shocked when their doting family man father suddenly announces he has another son--a semi-famous actor who wants to live with them. But there's more to this story than there appears, and as the five new siblings struggle to adjust to each other, unexpected romances, fierce life challenges, and mind-bending questions about the past arise. A warm, feel-good human story, chock-full of food, family, and lessons about what it means to belong somewhere.
Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (2017) -- A petite woman is gifted with super strength, becomes bodyguard to a whimsical chaebol, and chases a murderous kidnapper. The only thing I can praise without reservation here is the truly charming romance, which is beyond sweet. The trimmings end up being bizarrely offensive sometimes.
Tunnel (2017) -- A dedicated detective chases a serial killer through a tunnel in 1986...and into 2016. Awkward bromances, time travel hijinks, and chilling mysteries follow as he teams up with a modern-day police squad to solve his now very cold case and return home. More character-driven than mystery-based, but what's wrong with that?
Chicago Typewriter (2017) -- When a famous author becomes the victim of writer's block, he receives the gift of an eighty year old typewriter that takes him on an odyssey into his past life as a freedom fighter during the Japanese occupation. A beautiful, slow-burn narrative about literature, friendship, sacrifice, freedom and what it means to really live. A new all-time favorite.
Individualist Ji Young (2017) -- When a misanthropic loner and a destructively clingy man become neighbors, they stumble into an unlikely relationship. But will they ultimately heal each other, or only make their wounds deeper? Sweet little short, though the hero squicked me out more than once.
Circle (2017) -- In 2017 a college student questions a rash of suspicious campus suicides. In 2037 a detective investigates a murder that has taken placed in a utopian society where murder is supposedly impossible. How are the two timelines connected? This amazing sci-fi doles out answers that only raise fresh questions about the ethics of technology, the nature of identity, and the loves that transcend limitations...
Fight My Way (2017) -- Four twenty-something friends live ordinary lives, until they decide to start chasing their youthful dreams. Along the way old romances and friendships begin to take on new hues. Interesting combo of down-to-earth and cheerfully idealistic. Refreshing, but I never fell in love.
Lookout (2017) --When a detective's daughter is murdered and the killer goes free, she goes rogue, joining a band of vigilantes who are focused on bringing down the corrupt chief prosecutor and his psychopath son. Acceptable contribution to the crop of underdogs-versus-the-corrupt narrative that has dominated this year. Easily the best part was the action hero ahjumma.
Seven Day Queen (2017) -- A jealous king, a just prince, a broken bromance, a dire prophecy, a series of fateful promises, some dangerous lies, one throne...and one fair and fearless woman caught in the middle of it all. It's a familiar sageuk recipe, but when it's executed as deftly as this, the familiar becomes riveting. And heartbreaking. So very, very heartbreaking.
Duel (2017) -- When a detective's daughter is kidnapped, he's plunged into a desperate quest to solve the riddle of two identical young men, a massive pharmaceutical company, and a twenty-four year old 'incident' that will lead him to her. The good parts were very good--intense, action-packed and emotional. But the massive plotholes are distracting.
Forest of Secrets (2017) -- An emotionless prosecutor and a warm-hearted detective become partners as they trace a web of corruption that starts to seem like it infects their whole world. Exquisitely wrought, delicately nuanced, deeply meaningful, and populated with living, breathing people. As perfect a drama as I've ever watched.
Woman of Dignity (2017) -- When a scheming servant seduces the elderly head of a wealthy family, the lives of everyone in Gangnam seem to start spinning out of control amidst questions about the nature of happiness. Definitely not my thing, though I enjoyed the occasional darkly comic beat it managed to work in.
Rescue Me (2017) -- A desperate young woman trapped in a cult finds her only help in four young men, who will risk everything to make amends for failing her three years ago. A dark thriller, with some satisfying friendships and (yet another) look at the corruption of the powerful.
Temptation of the Wife of Heirs over Flowers (2017) -- A silly little short, in which kpop boyband Monsta X smash together six different dramas (and their soundtracks!) to get a memorable, crossdressing parody. Oddly enough, the plot works!
Live Up to Your Name (2017) -- Two doctors from different eras become tangled together in time-hopping shenanigans as a magical needle case nudges them along the way to embracing their calling as healers. But how can they reconcile their responsibilities with their feelings for each other? Not bad. If you watch one medical drama this year, make it this one.
Age of Youth 2 (2017) -- There are no words for the gratitude I feel in being blessed with this sequel to one of my favorite shows. We're back at Belle Epoque, where old relationships end and new ones begin, people move out and people move in, and forgotten memories resurface...but through it all, these five girls are there for each other.
Argon (2017) -- A despised strikebreaker who nonetheless dreams of being a real journalist is assigned to the fallen-on-hard-times investigative news team Argon, headed by an anchor famous for his tough integrity. Six months of a tumultuous education-by-fire ensue. It's hard-hitting, spare but honest, worthy of the Argon team themselves.
While You Were Sleeping (2017) -- A young woman is plagued by dreams of tragedy she is powerless to avert, until she meets a handsome young prosecutor with the reluctant ability to make change possible. Starts off promising, but while it's super-pretty, it's also super-bland. Another legal procedural to add to the pile.
Because This Is Our First Life (2017) -- Quirky couple Se Hee and Ji Ho decide to enter into a contract marriage to make their landlord/tenant relationship more palatable to their conservative families. Naturally, romance follows. However, what sounds like a typical kdrama setup is actually a venue for a sweet wonderful introspection on the nature of love, marriage, friendship, family and dreams in a frequently hostile world.
Buam-dong Avengers Social Club (2017) -- Three women (and one teenage boy) become unlikely allies in bringing down the people who have hurt them. But it's the unorthodox friendship they form that really gives them the strength to believe in themselves. A sweet, funny punch at a toxic patriarchy.
Go Back Spouses (2017) -- A recently divorced middle-aged couple find themselves magically returned to their twenty year old bodies in 1999, the year they met. Navigating campus life should be a breeze with all their new life experience, but can they navigate their way back to each other? Cute and funny, with a focus on the importance of family, but it lacked cohesion sometimes. Enjoyed, didn't love.
Long Time No See (2017) -- A web short that's more indie film than drama, this delivers a marvelous little story about two hitmen for rival gangs who fall in love. In delivering such a tender, gripping LGBTQ love story to a notoriously heterosexual mainstream, this team has won my respect and admiration.
Smart Prison Living (2017) -- A sweet but dim baseball superstar gets a year-long prison sentence, and must learn the rules of his new world to survive. Lucky for him, he's got a band of unlikely allies there ready to see him through. A fun, uplifting look at the spirits that shine the brightest in the dark, even if jail did sometimes felt like an extended summer camp stay.
I'm Not a Robot (2017) -- A withdrawn chaebol with a severe psychosomatic allergy to human contact tests out a humanoid robot as a companion...not knowing the robot he's bonding with is actually a real woman in disguise. A fairytale-esque romance with a loving story about the importance of human connection. So adorable, so lovable.
Just Between Lovers (2017) -- Two survivors of a terrible building collapse still struggle with the crippling fallout ten years later. But when a construction project at the site of the accident brings them together, the deep connection they build might just bring them the healing they need. A lovely, haunted melodrama, with a truly marvelous romance.
Mother (2018) -- When a reserved ornithologist encounters a child experiencing deadly abuse, she makes the snap decision to run away with her, triggering an exploration of her own similarly painful past. An exquisite homage to motherhood and family in all their unexpected shapes and sizes.
Misty (2018) -- It starts as the deliciously cinematic and noir-esque exploration of an ambitious newswoman desperately juggling her career, her estranged relationship with her husband and the deadly return of an old boyfriend. But it veers into a crashingly disappointing ending that leaves plotholes and unfulfilled character arcs in its wake. So, so close.
Woohoo Waikiki (2018) -- A side-splitting Friends-esque drama in which six twenty-something friends sprint from mishap to mishap in pursuit of their careers, dreams and love. There was a sincerity and heart beneath all the laughs that almost made up for all the gross toilet humor. Almost.
Live (2018) -- Two rookie cops experience the highs and lows of police life in a high-crime patrol division under the watchful guidance of their co-workers. A slice-of-life drama with a little bit of everything for everyone, and plenty of satisfying emotion. The adamant pro-police stance is a bit jarring for my jaded American sensibilities, though.
My Ajusshi (2018) -- The Perfect Drama. Two emotionally shipwrecked people--one, a battered office temp who can't escape her past, the other, a salary-man trapped in the silence of an unfulfilling job and a crumbling marriage--cross paths and find they have an unlikely and inexplicable bond. Lovely, poetic, quiet. And dismiss any of your concerns about the age gap. It's not that kind of story, I promise.
Come Here and Hug Me (2018) -- The son of a serial killer and the daughter of his last victims share a deep and tragic childhood connection in which love, guilt and grief keep their lives on pause until they reconnect as adults. Promising cast, rather lackluster delivery of what was potentially a gripping tale of monsters and redemption.
Five Children (2016) -- A widower with two children and a divorcee with three fall in love and have to find a way to make their complicated lives meld. Along for the ride are in-laws, parents, siblings, co-workers, exes and friends, many of whom experience their own romances and trials. A heart-warming family narrative, though a bit bubblegum for my taste.
Descended from the Sun (2016) -- Soldiers and doctors work together in war-torn fictional country Uruk, and fall in love amidst various catastrophes. All the sparkly, fluffy fun, which is odd considering the serious backdrop. But it's not a show made to be taken seriously...it's just meant to be lightly enjoyed.
Marriage Contract (2016) -- Standard melo fare about terminal illnesses and family dramatics, but the thoughtful acting and adorable patchwork family that forms at the center manage to elevate it somewhat.
Memory (2016) -- A cutthroat lawyer contracts Alzheimer's, and must resolve the various converging issues of his life before he forgets them. Complex, adult, and very satisfying.
Page Turner (2016) -- Heartfelt coming of age short about three teenagers, two life-altering accidents, and one big dream.
Oh Hae Young Again (2016) -- How much can we change the future when we decide to start living, and not just existing? That's the question explored in this drama about two miserable people who get tangled up together in a mess of identical names, mysterious visions, ruined weddings, and unexpected loves. Sometimes emotionally ravaging, sometimes side-splittingly funny, always a fresh take on the rom-com.
Dear My Friends (2016) -- A flavorful slice-of-life tale about a group of elders (and a thirty-something writer along for the ride) who deal with the inevitable, cruel passage of time through the strength of their decades long friendship. Touching, sincere, realistic. Made me look at my parents in a whole new light.
Beautiful Mind (2016) -- When people start mysteriously dying at an eminent hospital, a brilliant doctor with anti-social disorder becomes unlikely allies with a feisty, overly-emotional cop. The question that arises, of course, is can a man who can't feel anything fall in love? Nuanced, yet flawed.
Gogh's Starry Night (2016) -- Every guy in Go Ho's office has fallen for her, including her newly-hired ex-boyfriend and her long time hot-tempered boss. She can turn her new entanglements into a series of popular articles, but how will she choose which man gets her heart in the end? It's a workplace reverse-harem with plenty of old fashioned fun and romance. And blessedly little angst.
The Good Wife (2016) -- Slick and stylish adaptation of the American courtroom drama. When Hye-kyung's hotshot prosecutor husband gets swept up in a scandal of bribery and adultery, she has to re-enter her long abandoned career as a lawyer, and in the process rediscovers her talent, independence...and an old flame.
W--Two Worlds (2016) -- The daughter of a famous cartoonist gets sucked into his best-selling comic, where the handsome, brilliant hero is becoming self-aware and starting to question the rules of his world. A stunningly beautiful meta-narrative about fiction and reality, destiny and free will that fell too in love with its own twists in the last half.
Age of Youth (2016) -- Five college girls share an apartment, and while on the surface their differences put them at odds, they come together to support each other in the face of all that being twenty can throw at them. Cracktastic slice-of-life/coming-of age.
Moonlight Drawn by Clouds (2016) -- Dreamy fairy tale sageuk wherein a girl disguised as a eunuch wins the heart of a cranky crown prince. Beautifully shot and told, but never managed to be more than fluff.
Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo (2016) -- A modern-day girl has an accident and is transported into the body of a previous incarnation in Goryeo, as well as into the lives of a bevy of handsome princes. Two of them especially reach her, scholarly Wook and dangerous So, but as palace life deteriorates into a bloodbath, she struggles to protect everyone from history. So deeply flawed, and yet oddly intense and heart-breaking.
Shopping King Louis (2016) -- An overprotected chaebol winds up amnesiac on the streets of Seoul, his survival depending on a kind-hearted country bumpkin looking for her missing little brother. Can two such babes in the woods find a home in the big city, their families, and maybe what they never expected...each other? A warm and gentle story about the power of kindness, love, and family.
1% of Anything (2016) -- A remake of an early oughts drama that runs pretty true to form--jerky chaebol is transformed into adoring boyfriend by a spirited schoolteacher when they're forced into a contract relationship. And yet, the feel-good focus on a couple with a ton of chemistry makes it a genuine pleasure.
Romantic Doctor Teacher Kim (2016) -- A talented young surgeon gets unfairly banished to a tumbledown provincial hospital, and at first the only thing he wants is to get out. But when he discovers the head surgeon there is a vanished legend, his outlook starts to change. Intriguing tale centered around the ethical questions involved in medicine when idealistic romanticism is the driving principle.
The Sound of Your Heart (2016) -- A zany, easy to watch adaptation of the long-running webtoon that chronicles the antics of the artist's family. Slapstick and silly, it has a surprising heart once you get past all the toilet humor.
Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo (2016) -- Future weightlifting champ Kim Bok Joo experiences college life, from friendships and dreams to painful first crushes that lead to the realization that maybe real love is the person who's there to wipe away her tears and make her laugh. Impossibly sunny and sweet exploration of youth, with the most endearing, smile-inducing of romances.
The Lonely Shining Goblin (2016) -- A minor deity cursed to a life of immortality wanders the earth, hoping to find the promised bride that will free him. But he never meant to fall in love with her when he finally found her...Split down the middle between rom-com and melodrama, it's a slow, bittersweet story that explores themes of reincarnation, fate and loves that can transcend both. Not as amazing as the ratings would have you think, but it has its very compelling moments.
Voice (2017) -- It's a pretty standard detective thriller, in which two cops chase the serial killer who murdered their loved ones. The first four episodes are edge-of-your-seat intense, and the main villain, who steals the spotlight half way through and keeps it, is mesmerizing. Otherwise, fairly forgettable.
Defendant (2017) -- A prosecutor wakes up one morning to find himself on death row, convicted for the murder of his wife and daughter, and with no memory of the past four months. What ensues is a harrowing race against time for truth and justice. Ji Sung surpasses himself here as the tormented prisoner. Love!
Chief Kim (2017) -- A wacky accountant with a gift for cooking the books and a knack for anarchy becomes a reluctant champion of the underdog when he gets hired at a corrupt company. Comfort food comedy, with a cast of warm characters and a take-down-the-man attitude that's good for the soul.
Rebel: Thief Who Stole the People (2017) -- The legendary Hong Gil Dong gets a refresher here as a super-strong gang leader who becomes a prophesied hero for the people against an evil king and a corrupt system. Uncomplicated but pleasing story of underdog heroics.
Father is Strange (2017) -- A sprawling clan is shocked when their doting family man father suddenly announces he has another son--a semi-famous actor who wants to live with them. But there's more to this story than there appears, and as the five new siblings struggle to adjust to each other, unexpected romances, fierce life challenges, and mind-bending questions about the past arise. A warm, feel-good human story, chock-full of food, family, and lessons about what it means to belong somewhere.
Strong Woman Do Bong Soon (2017) -- A petite woman is gifted with super strength, becomes bodyguard to a whimsical chaebol, and chases a murderous kidnapper. The only thing I can praise without reservation here is the truly charming romance, which is beyond sweet. The trimmings end up being bizarrely offensive sometimes.
Tunnel (2017) -- A dedicated detective chases a serial killer through a tunnel in 1986...and into 2016. Awkward bromances, time travel hijinks, and chilling mysteries follow as he teams up with a modern-day police squad to solve his now very cold case and return home. More character-driven than mystery-based, but what's wrong with that?
Chicago Typewriter (2017) -- When a famous author becomes the victim of writer's block, he receives the gift of an eighty year old typewriter that takes him on an odyssey into his past life as a freedom fighter during the Japanese occupation. A beautiful, slow-burn narrative about literature, friendship, sacrifice, freedom and what it means to really live. A new all-time favorite.
Individualist Ji Young (2017) -- When a misanthropic loner and a destructively clingy man become neighbors, they stumble into an unlikely relationship. But will they ultimately heal each other, or only make their wounds deeper? Sweet little short, though the hero squicked me out more than once.
Circle (2017) -- In 2017 a college student questions a rash of suspicious campus suicides. In 2037 a detective investigates a murder that has taken placed in a utopian society where murder is supposedly impossible. How are the two timelines connected? This amazing sci-fi doles out answers that only raise fresh questions about the ethics of technology, the nature of identity, and the loves that transcend limitations...
Fight My Way (2017) -- Four twenty-something friends live ordinary lives, until they decide to start chasing their youthful dreams. Along the way old romances and friendships begin to take on new hues. Interesting combo of down-to-earth and cheerfully idealistic. Refreshing, but I never fell in love.
Lookout (2017) --When a detective's daughter is murdered and the killer goes free, she goes rogue, joining a band of vigilantes who are focused on bringing down the corrupt chief prosecutor and his psychopath son. Acceptable contribution to the crop of underdogs-versus-the-corrupt narrative that has dominated this year. Easily the best part was the action hero ahjumma.
Seven Day Queen (2017) -- A jealous king, a just prince, a broken bromance, a dire prophecy, a series of fateful promises, some dangerous lies, one throne...and one fair and fearless woman caught in the middle of it all. It's a familiar sageuk recipe, but when it's executed as deftly as this, the familiar becomes riveting. And heartbreaking. So very, very heartbreaking.
Duel (2017) -- When a detective's daughter is kidnapped, he's plunged into a desperate quest to solve the riddle of two identical young men, a massive pharmaceutical company, and a twenty-four year old 'incident' that will lead him to her. The good parts were very good--intense, action-packed and emotional. But the massive plotholes are distracting.
Forest of Secrets (2017) -- An emotionless prosecutor and a warm-hearted detective become partners as they trace a web of corruption that starts to seem like it infects their whole world. Exquisitely wrought, delicately nuanced, deeply meaningful, and populated with living, breathing people. As perfect a drama as I've ever watched.
Woman of Dignity (2017) -- When a scheming servant seduces the elderly head of a wealthy family, the lives of everyone in Gangnam seem to start spinning out of control amidst questions about the nature of happiness. Definitely not my thing, though I enjoyed the occasional darkly comic beat it managed to work in.
Rescue Me (2017) -- A desperate young woman trapped in a cult finds her only help in four young men, who will risk everything to make amends for failing her three years ago. A dark thriller, with some satisfying friendships and (yet another) look at the corruption of the powerful.
Temptation of the Wife of Heirs over Flowers (2017) -- A silly little short, in which kpop boyband Monsta X smash together six different dramas (and their soundtracks!) to get a memorable, crossdressing parody. Oddly enough, the plot works!
Live Up to Your Name (2017) -- Two doctors from different eras become tangled together in time-hopping shenanigans as a magical needle case nudges them along the way to embracing their calling as healers. But how can they reconcile their responsibilities with their feelings for each other? Not bad. If you watch one medical drama this year, make it this one.
Age of Youth 2 (2017) -- There are no words for the gratitude I feel in being blessed with this sequel to one of my favorite shows. We're back at Belle Epoque, where old relationships end and new ones begin, people move out and people move in, and forgotten memories resurface...but through it all, these five girls are there for each other.
Argon (2017) -- A despised strikebreaker who nonetheless dreams of being a real journalist is assigned to the fallen-on-hard-times investigative news team Argon, headed by an anchor famous for his tough integrity. Six months of a tumultuous education-by-fire ensue. It's hard-hitting, spare but honest, worthy of the Argon team themselves.
While You Were Sleeping (2017) -- A young woman is plagued by dreams of tragedy she is powerless to avert, until she meets a handsome young prosecutor with the reluctant ability to make change possible. Starts off promising, but while it's super-pretty, it's also super-bland. Another legal procedural to add to the pile.
Because This Is Our First Life (2017) -- Quirky couple Se Hee and Ji Ho decide to enter into a contract marriage to make their landlord/tenant relationship more palatable to their conservative families. Naturally, romance follows. However, what sounds like a typical kdrama setup is actually a venue for a sweet wonderful introspection on the nature of love, marriage, friendship, family and dreams in a frequently hostile world.
Buam-dong Avengers Social Club (2017) -- Three women (and one teenage boy) become unlikely allies in bringing down the people who have hurt them. But it's the unorthodox friendship they form that really gives them the strength to believe in themselves. A sweet, funny punch at a toxic patriarchy.
Go Back Spouses (2017) -- A recently divorced middle-aged couple find themselves magically returned to their twenty year old bodies in 1999, the year they met. Navigating campus life should be a breeze with all their new life experience, but can they navigate their way back to each other? Cute and funny, with a focus on the importance of family, but it lacked cohesion sometimes. Enjoyed, didn't love.
Long Time No See (2017) -- A web short that's more indie film than drama, this delivers a marvelous little story about two hitmen for rival gangs who fall in love. In delivering such a tender, gripping LGBTQ love story to a notoriously heterosexual mainstream, this team has won my respect and admiration.
Smart Prison Living (2017) -- A sweet but dim baseball superstar gets a year-long prison sentence, and must learn the rules of his new world to survive. Lucky for him, he's got a band of unlikely allies there ready to see him through. A fun, uplifting look at the spirits that shine the brightest in the dark, even if jail did sometimes felt like an extended summer camp stay.
I'm Not a Robot (2017) -- A withdrawn chaebol with a severe psychosomatic allergy to human contact tests out a humanoid robot as a companion...not knowing the robot he's bonding with is actually a real woman in disguise. A fairytale-esque romance with a loving story about the importance of human connection. So adorable, so lovable.
Just Between Lovers (2017) -- Two survivors of a terrible building collapse still struggle with the crippling fallout ten years later. But when a construction project at the site of the accident brings them together, the deep connection they build might just bring them the healing they need. A lovely, haunted melodrama, with a truly marvelous romance.
Mother (2018) -- When a reserved ornithologist encounters a child experiencing deadly abuse, she makes the snap decision to run away with her, triggering an exploration of her own similarly painful past. An exquisite homage to motherhood and family in all their unexpected shapes and sizes.
Misty (2018) -- It starts as the deliciously cinematic and noir-esque exploration of an ambitious newswoman desperately juggling her career, her estranged relationship with her husband and the deadly return of an old boyfriend. But it veers into a crashingly disappointing ending that leaves plotholes and unfulfilled character arcs in its wake. So, so close.
Woohoo Waikiki (2018) -- A side-splitting Friends-esque drama in which six twenty-something friends sprint from mishap to mishap in pursuit of their careers, dreams and love. There was a sincerity and heart beneath all the laughs that almost made up for all the gross toilet humor. Almost.
Live (2018) -- Two rookie cops experience the highs and lows of police life in a high-crime patrol division under the watchful guidance of their co-workers. A slice-of-life drama with a little bit of everything for everyone, and plenty of satisfying emotion. The adamant pro-police stance is a bit jarring for my jaded American sensibilities, though.
My Ajusshi (2018) -- The Perfect Drama. Two emotionally shipwrecked people--one, a battered office temp who can't escape her past, the other, a salary-man trapped in the silence of an unfulfilling job and a crumbling marriage--cross paths and find they have an unlikely and inexplicable bond. Lovely, poetic, quiet. And dismiss any of your concerns about the age gap. It's not that kind of story, I promise.
Come Here and Hug Me (2018) -- The son of a serial killer and the daughter of his last victims share a deep and tragic childhood connection in which love, guilt and grief keep their lives on pause until they reconnect as adults. Promising cast, rather lackluster delivery of what was potentially a gripping tale of monsters and redemption.
Mr. Sunshine (2018) -- At the turn of the twentieth century, as Korea crumbles in the face of Japan's brutal imperialism, five young people with very different relationships to their homeland collide. What should follow is a tale of epic highs and lows as they reconcile conflicting loyalties and old tragedies to stand up and fight for their country. What we get is mostly beautiful but aimless, until it hits its dynamic stride in the last quarter. What a waste of potential!
SKY Castle (2018) -- In the elite gated community of SKY Castle, one obsession rules the inhabitants--getting their children into the very best universities in Korea, whatever the cost. And sometimes the cost is very steep indeed. When tragedy rocks the community, and a new family with different ideals moves in, the scene is set for a gripping makjang about family, identity...and sacrifice.
Kingdom (2019) -- A Crown Prince tries to untangle the mysterious illness of the king, and accidentally uncovers a flesh-eating zombie plague set to sweep across Joseon. Terrifying, addictive, and much darker than the usual drama.
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